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Slender and elegant
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: Tanja Alma (sily)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 252 W: 6 N: 391]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (1859) |
| Genre: Animals |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2008-07-02 |
| Categories: Insects |
| Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS |
| Exposure: f/4, 1/640 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2008-07-02 5:15 |
| Viewed: 349 |
| Points: 10 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Taken in my garden,female wasp feeding on Achillea millefolium or Common Yarrow
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Superfamily: Evanioidea
Family: Gasteruptiidae
Gasteruptiinae is represented by the nominal, speciose genus Gasteruption Linnaeus with about 500 described species. It is cosmopolitan in distribution (Kieffer 1912; Crosskey 1962), though unknown from Polynesia and Hawaii (Crosskey 1962), and it is apparently most diverse in the Australian and Ethiopian regions.
The family Gasteruptiidae is one of the more distinctive among the Apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in 9 genera worldwide. The propleura form an elongated "neck", the petiole attaches very high on the propodeum, and the hind tibiae are swollen and club-like. The females commonly have a long ovipositor, and lay eggs in the nests of solitary bees and wasps, where their larvae prey upon the host larvae and provisions.
The absence of "teeth" on the crown of the head and the somewhat thickened antennae readily separate these wasps from those in the unrelated family Stephanidae, which also contains very slender wasps with long necks.
Wasps in the family Gasteruptiidae are predator-inquilines that lay eggs inside the cells of solitary bees and wasps nesting in plant stems or in underground nests, with the resulting larvae feeding on the food stores and/or nest inhabitants. The ovipositor on this female wasp is not used for drilling into wood, as in some other parasitic wasps (see Megarhyssa), but is used as a sort of remote placement device; the wasp inserts it into an existing nest or burrow.
Adult Gasteruptiidae wasps feed on flower nectar, and at least some are believed to eat pollen as well. They are very slender (imagine an insect almost as thin as a sewing needle) sharing the nectar source with various tachinid flies, beetles, lady beetles, ichneumon wasps, sawflies and ants. |
Alex99, nirmalroberts has marked this note useful
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- Nilson
(2220)
- [2008-07-03 9:41]
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Ola Tanja
Que diferente e belo animal que voc\ê capturou nesta imagem, as cores são realmente belas e a nitidez esta muito boa.
Parabens
Nilson
Ciao Tanja, my today neighbour, lovely composition with beautiful wasp and splendid flowers, great sharpness and wonderful colors, very well done, ciao Silvio
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- Alex99
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3040 W: 148 N: 4529]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(14629) - [2008-07-04 22:51]
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Hi Tanja.
I like selected subject and great framing of the image. Pictorial BG is so nice as main subject. You managed to reflect all features of the wasp and tiny flowers. Exposure of the image is excellent as well as the combination of a sharpness and blurriness. My compliments and kind regards.
Alexei.
Bonjour Tanja
Très joli ce macro, les détails et les contrastes sont réussis très jolis couleurs
et beau BG
Bravo et merci JP
Hi Tanja,
Fantastic image of this interesting wasp. Very informative note. Somehow, I missed to notice it earlier.
Thanks for sharing.
- Nirmal
